St. Paul, MN - Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 600, which would legalize and regulate cannabis for adult use, and expunge the records of those convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related crimes. The legislation passed on a bipartisan vote of 72-61. State Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL - St. Cloud) is a co-author of the legislation, and had previously held a “Be Heard on Cannabis” event in St. Cloud to help craft the legislation.
“Minnesota’s outdated cannabis laws are doing far more harm than good. That’s why I co-authored HF 600 to legalize cannabis for adult use and create a regulatory framework that changes our system which causes disproportionate harm to Minnesotans of color,” said Rep. Wolgamott. “This is a comprehensive, responsible bill, crafted with direct input from the people of St. Cloud. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”
The adult-use cannabis bill would create a responsible regulatory structure focused on developing micro-businesses and a craft market; expunge most cannabis convictions; fund public health awareness, youth access prevention, and substance abuse treatment; provide grants, loans, technical assistance, and training for small businesses; require testing and labeling of products; restrict packaging based on dosage size; and allow limited home grow abilities.
As of Nov. 4, 2020, voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota approved measures to regulate cannabis for adult-use, in addition to the 11 other states and 3 territories that currently allow adult-use cannabis.
Prior to today’s historic vote, House File 600 received approval from 12 House committees, including the committees on Commerce; Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs; Business and Workforce Development; Agriculture; Environment and Natural Resources; Judiciary and Civil Law; State Government; Education Finance; Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform; Health; Taxes; and Ways and Means.